
Excerpt from The Pennsylvania Museum Bulletin, Vol. 19: May, 1924 Of the English pieces in the present exhibition, the three 'shown in Plate I are of a high degree of excellence. The dining-room or hall chair on the left, lent by Frank Partridge, Esq., is in many ways unique. It cannot be said to belong definitely to any particular style. Its depressed, wooden seat, probably in use covered with a squab, is highly unusual; it has straight legs which are mildly uted and ornamented at the top with cyma scrolls. The seat rail is deeply curved and the centre of it carved with motives reminiscent of the Chinese. The splat back has a wheel design in the middle, suggestive perhaps of Robert Adam's inuence, and the uprights curve in and join it and then continue to the top rail which is curved and carved in the manner used throughout. The general effect is not only very individual, but highly pleasing. The table in the center, the property of George D. Widener, Esq., is strongly architectural, yet possesses great merit: it was almost surely made at the time when Chippendale was working for the Adam Brothers. The top is of black marble; the straight legs are square and uted and taper slightly to the plainly-moulded foot. Large acanthus leaves are carved on both sides at the beginning of each leg, which relieves the severity. Under the marble top is a series of rosettes and a gadroon-edging, broken in the middle by a garland of owers carved in the realistic manner of Grinling Gibbons. The beautiful and rare ribband-back chair shown at the right is also lent by Mr. Widener. It is typical of' the designs in the first plate of the Director, and is in every way one of the most splendid expressions of the style of Chippendale. Its cabriole legs, terminating in ball and claw feet, are carved at the knees with acanthus leaves. The bottom of the seat rail has the usual gadrooned moulding, while the top of the same rail is decorated with a leaf carved ogee, a unique feature. The top
Page Count:
20
Publication Date:
2017-10-28
Publisher:
Fb&c Limited
ISBN-10:
0265862183
ISBN-13:
9780265862186
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